Beautiful Weakness
by love.u.always.mom
Summary: Tris is on her way back to Dauntless from Abnegation when she finds a young factionless girl looking for the Dauntless compound. What does she want with Eric, and why does she look so familiar? Why has she been thrown out of her faction so young? No war AU, rated T for now but will become M later on. Fluff for now, if you recognize it then it's not mine. Reviews make me happy!
1. Chapter 1

**This is just a random fluff bunny I had chewing on my toes today. I really have too many, but they just keep popping up. Anyway, I don't know where this will end up going or when it will go there, but for now here's some fluff for everyone! Let me know what you think. :)**

Tris walked absently back to the Dauntless compound, mind churning after a long day of negotiation with Abnegation. She had taken a position among leadership, and her background as an Abnegation transfer made her a good ambassador between Dauntless and Abnegation.

When she was about five minutes away from the Dauntless compound Tris saw a young girl huddled in the doorway of an abandoned house, eyes closed with dirty hair and torn Erudite clothes. She felt a tug of sympathy, the girl couldn't have been more than fifteen. After looking around to make sure she wasn't seen, Tris made her way over to the girl, pulling her bag off her back as she went. She had some spare food with her, it still felt strange going out without any.

Tris knelt down next to the girl and nudged her shoulder. Now she was closer, Tris realized that she was even younger than she'd thought, probably about eleven. Tris looked closely at her, she looked incredibly familiar, but Tris couldn't place where she had seen her before.

"Hey, are you hungry?"

The girl opened her eyes slowly as she answered. "Yes, do you have any food?" The girl's gray eyes niggled at her subconscious, Tris definitely recognized her from somewhere.

She had just started to pull her bag open when the girl's eyes found the gun on her hip and widened.

"You're from Dauntless!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm on my way back there now." Tris answered, wondering why the girl was suddenly so frantic.

The girl grabbed Tris's jacket, looking desperate. "Can you please take me there? I've been looking for it for days but I can't find it."

"Why?" Tris asked, thoroughly confused now.

"My brother transferred there two years ago from Erudite. I don't know if he passed initiation but it's my only chance. Our parents kicked me out because I was too stupid for them."

The end of her sentence was laced with a malicious bitterness, and it was that combined with the icy cold look in her eyes that made Tris finally recognize her. The girl was the spitting image of Eric.

"Yeah I'll take you there," Tris told her, holding out a hand to help her up. "I know him, he's one of the leaders now."

The girl's eyes lit up, and she threw her arms around Tris's waist. "Thank you!"

Tris smiled and hugged her after a moment of surprise. "You still want this?" Tris asked, holding out an apple. She nodded and took it, biting into it quickly as they began to walk.

"So what's your name? How old are you?" Tris asked her as she ate.

"Kathryn, but I like Kat, and I'm twelve." she responded. "What's yours?"

"Tris," she replied, coming up on the back entrance to the compound and holding the door open. Kat had already finished the apple and tossed the core aside with a regretful look. Tris pulled her bag off her shoulder and dug another out, holding it out to Kat with a smile.

"Why do you have these with you?" She asked as Tris led them to the offices.

"Habit," Tris told her. "I transferred from Abnegation three months ago. We always carried food with us to give to the factionless, it feels strange not bringing any when I go out."

"A week ago I would have called you a stiff, but now I'm really glad you do," Kat said softly, looking sad.

"I am too. And hey, this is it," Tris told her, stopping in front of the door to Eric's office. She glanced nervously at Kat, hoping like hell Eric wasn't horrible to her. Tris wasn't going to say anything, but from what she knew of Eric, he didn't care about anyone.

Taking a deep breath Tris knocked firmly on the door, waiting for the inevitable response. Sure enough, Eric didn't disappoint.

"What the hell is it now?" Came his annoyed shout.

Kat gave the door a worried look. "Maybe we should come back later?"

"No, that's about the best we're going to get," Tris told her, shaking her head and opening the door.

"Seriously stiff? What the fuck do you want that can't wait until later?"

Tris opened her mouth to respond, but was cut short when Kat appeared beside her, staring at Eric. Eric's jaw dropped in shock when he saw his sister at Tris's side.

"Kat?" Eric's voice was incredulous as he stood up, rounding his desk and coming to stand in front of them. "What are you doing here?"

"Erickson!" She squealed, launching herself at Eric and throwing her arms around his neck.

_Erickson?_

Tris stepped in the office and closed the door quietly behind her, watching in shock as Eric caught her and hugged her tightly, lifting her clear off the ground. Kat had her arms around his neck like a vice, and she could see the little girl's shoulders shaking with sobs.

Eric walked back to his chair, sitting down and pulling Kat onto his lap.

"Hey, shhh," Eric soothed gently, stroking Kat's hair. "What happened Kitty?" Tris stared. Kitty? Who the hell was this and what had he done with Eric?

"Mom and dad threw me out, I only got a ninety-three on my final," she hiccupped. "So they said I wasn't smart enough to be their daughter and told me to get out."

"When was that?" He asked, sounding shocked.

Kat took a shaky breath and leaned back to look at Eric. "Three days ago, I've been trying to find you since."

"Three days ago?" He repeated frantically. "Have you eaten, have you slept, are you okay?" He tucked her hair behind her ear affectionately, the gesture too rapid to look soothing.

Tris watched the conversation in utter shock. Eric had gone from malicious, cruel Dauntless leader to protective big brother like a switch had been flipped, and even watching it left her reeling.

"Yeah, Tris had some apples with her that she gave me. And I need a bath, but I'm okay. Can I stay here with you?"

Kat's voice was quiet and afraid, and Eric cradled her against his chest protectively. "I'll do everything I can Kitty," he promised.

Tris bit the inside of her cheek to hide her grin. Everyone in the compound was absolutely terrified of Eric, and a twelve year old girl had him wrapped around her little finger. Knowing this side of him existed was going to make hating him a lot harder.

"Tris, could you do me a favor and get her taken care of?"

"Sure," Tris responded. "What do you want me to do?"

"Show her around, get her some food, some clothes and whatever else. Just give them my name, I have more than enough points for anything she wants. I'm up to my ears in paperwork already and adding a screaming match with Max to my schedule isn't going to make it easier."

"Alright," Tris agreed.

"Oh!" Eric reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. "Once she has clothes take her by my apartment to get cleaned up. Just do whatever and I'll catch up with you in the Pit at dinner."

"What if they say I can't stay?" Kat asked worriedly.

"Then he'll yell and swear until they say you can," Tris quipped. "_Erickson_ has everyone here convinced he's some ruthless killing machine."

"And they'll continue to be convinced of that, won't they _Beatrice?"_

"Fair enough," Tris allowed.

"Good," he muttered. "Go with Tris for now Kitty. I'll see you later alright?"

Kat nodded and hopped off Eric's lap. "Okay."

...

Neither one of them spoke until they got to the pit.

"You two don't get along do you?" Kat asked matter-of-factly.

"No," Tris chuckled lightly. "But you sure made it a lot harder to hate him." Tris shook her head, grinning as she walked into the tattoo shop. "Come on, my friend Christina works here. I want to see if she'll go shopping with us, she's better at it than I am."

Christina was sitting at a desk, sketching idly when they walked up.

"You too busy to go shopping Chris?"

Christina looked up. "Hell no I'm not!" She grinned. "Who's this?"

"Kathryn, she goes by Kat. She's Eric's little sister. Their parents threw her out, he told me to get her settled in."

"What happens if Max says she can't stay?"

"Oh he'll make sure she does," Tris told her, grinning.

Christina missed the hint that Tris was attempting to give her. "Oh I'm sure he will," she muttered bitterly. "Can't tarnish that perfect reputation of his by not getting his way, can he?"

"That too," Tris allowed. Christina gave her a confused look.

_'Later,'_ Tris mouthed.

"Can I get one of those?" Kat interrupted, pointing to the small stud in Christina's nose.

Christina looked at Tris in question, who shrugged. "I don't see why not. It's not like he can say anything about it."

Christina giggled as she prepared her equipment. "True. Alright Kat, have a seat. What color do you want?"

"Purple," Kat replied immediately. Christina nodded and picked out the appropriate stud, loading it into the gun and positioning it.

"Alright, you ready?"

"Yep!"

"Gonna be a little pinch," Christina told her, squeezing the trigger as she finished her sentence. Kat winced, but otherwise didn't react. Christina set the gun down and tilted Kat's face to the light, examining the new piercing.

Tris grinned. "Well, now you really are Eric's sister." Kat grinned widely and got up, wandering around the shop to look at various tattoo designs.

"Oh my god Tris, you would not _believe _what he got done last week!" Christina hissed as she cleaned up.

"He got a new one? I didn't notice."

"Well you wouldn't, it's not in a place he generally displays to the public." At her confused look, Christina elaborated, whispering in Tris's ear. "It's called a Prince Albert."

"I've never heard of it."

Christina shook her head and dug a book out of the desk, flipping through it quickly. Checking that Kat was sufficiently distracted, she showed Tris the picture.

"You're kidding!"

Christina laughed. "Nope. Bud did it in the back room, he screamed like a girl."

"I wonder why," Tris replied sarcastically. "It's not like he got his dick pierced or something. Oh, wait..."

"Shut up," Christina replied, swatting at Tris. "So why is he going to get his way?"

Tris giggled. "Because she has him wrapped around her little finger like you wouldn't believe."

"No way," Christina laughed. "Really?"

Tris nodded. "Really. Trust me, _Kitty _stays." Christina broke down in a fit of giggles. "But I didn't tell you that."

"Tell me what?" She asked innocently. "Come on Kat, let's get you something to wear."

...

Kat sat at a table with Christina, Tris, Will, Uriah, Zeke, Marlene, Lynn and Shauna, laughing and looking perfectly at ease with Tris and Christina's friends. She looked like a different girl, dressed in Dauntless black and the purple stud gleaming in the right side of her nose. She looked like she belonged there.

Most of Dauntless was gathered in the Pit for dinner and Kat was attracting stares, partly because she was obviously new and partly because of her striking resemblance to her brother. They had the same face shape, same dark hair, same gray eyes and the exact same smile.

"And finally mom and dad went out looking for him at like eleven because he never stayed out late and we found him twenty feet up a tree, someone's dog had chased him halfway across Candor," Kat told them enthusiastically. "He wouldn't come down until we chased it off."

The entire table erupted into laughter at the mental image of a scrawny, fourteen-year-old Eric treed by someone's dog. Zeke was wiping tears from his eyes, doubled over laughing. Tris wondered idly if Eric had thought of this outcome when he decided let his little sister spend the day with Tris and her friends.

Just then the main doors opened and Eric stepped in, eyes sweeping the room for Kat. Christina nudged her and jerked her head toward the door, winking conspiratorially. Kat grinned before standing up, running the length of the Pit at top speed and launching herself into Eric's arms, successfully knocking him flat on his ass.

Most everyone turned to stare, wondering how their feared leader would react. When they had the attention of everyone in the room Kat plopped herself on Eric's waist and dug her fingers into his ribs, making him laugh and squirm as she tickled him. In a move almost too quick to follow Eric stood and threw Kat over his shoulder, earning a squeal of surprise and making laughter ring through the Pit.

"Show you what you get for tackling me kid," Eric quipped, grinning as he carried his sister back over to their table and dropped her on her feet.

"Alright, who's idea was that?" He asked them as he sat down, trying to sound serious but failing miserably.

"I just told her she should show us all how big and tough you were," Christina grinned.

Eric rolled his eyes and pointed at Kat with his fork. "You're gonna pay for that later," he promised.

Kat smiled at him angelically, the picture of innocence. "No I won't," she said sweetly.

Eric sighed and shook his head ruefully. "No, you probably won't," he allowed. Kat swallowed and grinned widely, leaning her head on his shoulder. The shift of position made the stud in her nose gleam briefly, which Eric didn't miss. He grabbed her chin and turned her head, examining it momentarily. "I like it," he decided. "But that's enough for now. Don't be an idiot like me and end up with more metal than face."

Everyone at the table, minus Tris, stared at Eric like he had grown two more heads until she broke the silence.

"I _told _you she had him wrapped around her little finger," Tris told Christina with a laugh.

"Shut up," Eric said good naturedly, throwing a chunk of hot dog at her and making the entire group laugh again. "She does not."

"Yes I do," Kat said, perfectly matter-of-fact.

"Well, maybe a little," Eric admitted, elbowing her in the ribs. "Me and everyone else you've ever met."

Kat sobered quickly, staring down at her plate with a sullen expression. "Not mom and dad," she said quietly. The rest of the table grew quiet with her, already having heard the story behind her arrival.

"Faction before blood kid" Will said easily. "We'll be your family. You're one of us now."

"He's right Kitty," Eric told her, ignoring the stares the use of his pet name earned him. "And anyone that says otherwise has to go through me. Alright?"

Kat nodded, leaning against his shoulder again, this time for true support. Eric slipped his arm around her shoulders and tugged her close to his side, slipping easily back into the role of protective big brother.

"Don't worry Kat," Tris told her. "No one screws with your brother around here. You're safe, I promise."

The girl smiled again, seeming sufficiently comforted for the moment. Her parents' rejection would take a long time to heal, but hopefully the presence of the others and Eric would ease the transition for her.

"So Eric," Zeke piped up. "Word is you got treed by a dog?"

"Hey!" Eric exclaimed indignantly, making Kat giggle loudly. "What else did you tell them?"

Tris caught Zeke's eye and nodded in thanks, watching Eric and Kat banter back and forth.

"Who are you and what have you done with Eric?" Zeke asked.

"That's what I thought earlier," Tris replied.

"Oh this isn't Eric," Kat giggled. "This is-" Her words cut off as Eric clapped a hand over her mouth in an attempt to silence her.

"Don't you dare," he warned her, laughing. Kat bit his finger, and he pulled back reflexively. "Ouch!"

"This is _Erickson._"


	2. Chapter 2

**In all honesty this kind of came out of nowhere for me, but I hope you like it all the same! Leave me a review at the end please!**

* * *

**~*~ Six Months Later ~*~**

Eric stepped into his apartment and slammed the door behind him with a sigh. Wearily he leaned back against it, closing his eyes for a few moments and relishing the peace. Just him and Kat now, thank god. Time for a quiet night in, he certainly deserved it. When he opened his eyes and _saw_ Kat, though, he couldn't help but groan.

She was sitting quietly on the couch, back ramrod straight and twisting her hands in her lap nervously, his own gray eyes staring out at him from her face, full of guilt. _Fucking hell. _He searched her face quickly for new piercings and sighed in relief, for a moment he'd thought she'd found someone to give her another one. The last five months or so Kat had started in on a rebellious phase, which didn't entirely surprise him after what their parents had put her through.

Tracking her down and pulling her away from the older kids was almost a nightly ritual now, and more than once he'd had to wake up several times a night to make sure she was breathing or hold her hair while she threw up after drinking too much. She had also taken a liking to piercings, which he supposed was partially his own fault. He hadn't raised too much of a fuss over her second one, just thrown her a dirty look and reminded her of what he had said her first day. She acted remorseful, but he soon discovered she wasn't. The third he had chewed her out for not listening, and removed at least half of his own as an example to her.

After the fourth he had walked down to the tattoo parlor to ask about it, and discovered that while Christina had respected his orders to Kat and refused to give her any more, Tori had no problems giving her whatever she wanted. After promising consequences to anyone who gave her another one, he had returned to his apartment to give her an ass ripping.

What he hadn't expected was her ability to melt his anger with a few tears, or how hard it would be on him to cause them. For the first time in his life, Eric thought he might just have an inkling of what it was like to be a parent.

Pulling back from his memories of the last few months, Eric moved to stand in front of her where she was seated on the couch, crossing his arms and scowling when he really wanted to tug her into his lap and take care of her the way he had when she was a toddler. But those days were long gone, and now he was forced to be the heavy in his parents' place. His stance made her shrink in on herself slightly, eyes filling with tears. _Damnit._

"What is it?" He asked wearily, readying himself mentally for another argument.

"Um..." She shifted her weight uncomfortably. "I went to the infirmary today because I haven't been feeling good lately..."

Tears slipped down her cheeks, and it was everything he could do to not sit down and hug her, wipe her tears away like he always used to. He took a deep breath, reminding himself that he couldn't only be the good guy now. He had to be the bad guy too. But damnit, it was hard.

"The lady, she told me..." She took a deep breath and averted her eyes, and a weight settled into his stomach. Whatever it was, it was _bad._

"Are you sick?" He asked her, concern overriding anger.

She shook her head. "No, she said I'm pregnant," Kat whispered.

Eric froze, staring at her in disbelief while the word bounced around in his mind without meaning.

Pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant.

_Pregnant._

His voice was deadly calm when he spoke, and he saw her flinch back, knowing it meant a storm was coming.

"_What _did you just tell me?"

"I said I'm pregnant," she said, louder this time.

"You are _thirteen years old!_" He yelled, making her jump as his temper snapped. "Is that what you've been doing all this time when I've had to come hunt you down at eleven at night? Sleeping around? For god's sake you shouldn't even be _going out yet_ and here you're going to tell me you've been screwing around! Did you even stop to think about getting pregnant or did you just jump into bed with someone?" Eric paused, but Kat remained silent.

"Did you?" He yelled. "Did getting pregnant even _cross your mind?"_

She shook her head meekly, staring at the floor as tears coursed down her cheeks. It was a mark of how angry he was that he didn't even feel the usual desire to wipe them away. He was too pissed.

"_Of course you didn't!" _Eric screamed. "Because you're a _child!"_

"No I'm not!" She retaliated immediately. "I choose in only three years!"

"And do you know what happens then?"

"I choose which faction I belong in, duh."

"Exactly. And no matter what that test tells you, no matter where you decide to go, that baby _stays here!"_

His pronouncement made her pull up short, and he seized the opportunity.

"Faction before blood Kathryn," he told her, back to a normal volume. "Or did you forget that?"

They were interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by Tris coming halfway in before stopping in her tracks as the atmosphere of the room hit her.

"Kat invited me over for dinner, but maybe I should come back..." She said hesitantly, eyeing a crying Kat and a clearly livid Eric.

"Yeah- Wait, actually come in," he said, covering his face with his hands as he tried to deal with his anger. "Maybe she'll talk to you, I need to go before I say something I don't mean," he muttered, striding to the door and slamming it behind him. Kat jumped at the noise, still crying silently.

"What am I taking your side for?" Tris asked her with a smile, sitting down and pulling the girl into a hug.

"I don't think you'll be on my side," Kat admitted.

"Okay, then what has your brother's panties in a wad?"

Kat sighed, relaxing now that Eric and his temper had gone. She knew Tris would be disappointed, but Tris was her friend.

"I'm pregnant."

Tris froze much the way Eric had. "You're... wait, you're serious?"

Kat nodded, wiping the tears off her face.

"No wonder he lost his mind," Tris muttered to herself. "When did you start having sex Kat?"

"About three and a half, maybe four months ago?" She answered uncertainly, trying to remember.

"Just one boy or not?" Tris asked, fighting to stay calm and not chew her out. Clearly, Eric had that part handled.

"A few," she admitted, "It started with Zack, and then I started hanging out with him and his friends and they all wanted to."

Tris made a mental note to talk to Zeke and Uriah before Eric found out their younger brother had been having sex with Kat.

"Do you know whose baby it is?"

Kat let out a few more tears before shaking her head.

"I mean, I understand he's mad but why is it such a big deal? I'm almost an adult and he's treating me like I'm a little kid."

Tris smiled to herself, remembering the days when she thought the same. She had been right about Kat's age too. Boy had her parents set her straight. They never hit her, but they had made it very clear that Tris was far from an adult.

"You're not a little girl anymore, but you're a long way from being an adult," Tris told her. "That much is obvious just because you didn't think about getting pregnant."

"I didn't think it would happen to me though."

"That's my point. If you were as close to being an adult as you _say _you are, you would have known it was a possibility. You're way too young to be having sex Kat."

"Eric does."

Tris ignored the mental image as she answered Kat's statement. "Eric is almost nineteen."

"Do you have sex?"

"You spend too much time with Christina," Tris chuckled. "And no, I don't."

Clearly that hadn't been the reaction Kat wanted. "But why not? It's fantastic."

"I'm sure it is, and sometimes I want to, but I'm not in any hurry, I'm only sixteen. I haven't found anyone I _want _to have sex with yet."

"I've seen you checking out my brother," Kat returned.

Tris blushed at being called out. "Your brother is hot," she said bluntly. "That doesn't mean I'm going to hop into bed with him, I don't even talk to him unless it's about you or leadership stuff. Looks and feeling good isn't all sex is about."

Kat nodded thoughtfully, and Tris was glad to see she was getting through to the girl.

"Why did you start having sex anyway?"

"It's fun."

"And? Chasing your friends around the pit, dressing up and jumping on and off trains is fun too."

Kat pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Because I wanted someone to want me," she confessed. "Eric doesn't, he's always gone."

"He's a faction leader Kat, it's his job. Do you have any idea how hard he fought to be able to keep you here?"

Kat shook her head. "He's a leader, didn't he just have to say he was going to?"

"He's _a _leader, not _the _leader, and he's certainly not the one in charge. He had to fight with Max for hours before he got his way. Almost got himself kicked out of his position for you."

"Really?" Kat asked.

"Oh yeah, I heard about it from my friend Four, remember him?" Kat nodded, and Tris went on. "He said they were in Max's office screaming at each other half the day before Max gave up."

"But why is he gone so much?"

"Because Abnegation and Erudite are at each other's throats," Tris admitted. "He spends half his time with Erudite these days, same way I spend half of mine with Abnegation. Dauntless is the only thing keeping them in check right now, and it's taking a lot of work."

"I just wish he'd at least said something, it always feels like I'm in his way."

"Well, why don't you tell him that when he gets back?"

"Will you stay here?"

"If he's okay with it I will," Tris told her. "But if he wants it to be private I'm not going to intrude. Anyway, have you been drinking lately? When was your last period?"

"I'm not sure when it was," Kat admitted. "Maybe two months ago? And a little bit yeah, but not much since that one night last month."

Tris remembered the night in question, when Eric had actually taken Kat to the infirmary, fearing alcohol poisoning.

"Well you can't drink anymore, not while you're pregnant. It can really hurt the baby. You have to be careful, alright?"

Kat nodded. "I will be," she promised.

"Good."

...

Tris and Kat were chattering an hour later when Eric finally walked back in the door with bleeding knuckles. The moment the door was closed Kat ran across the room and hugged her brother tight around the waist, resting her head against his chest. His expression showed surprise, but he caught her all the same.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered into his shirt, crying again.

"I'm sorry too Kitty," he told her, hugging her tighter. "I shouldn't have screamed at you like that."

Eric caught Tris's eye. _'Thank you,'_ he mouthed to her. She smiled and nodded, shrugging as if to say 'no big deal'.

Eric let go and took Kat by the hand, guiding her to the couch while Tris moved over to allow them room.

"Well, let's figure this out," he said wearily, lost as to what to do. "You're too young to raise a kid Kathryn," he told her sternly. "I hope you realize that."

She nodded. "I know."

"I mean, the way I see it the only options are to end the pregnancy or me try to raise it. Any other faction adopting would be an option, but that's harder to do here since we all live in one compound."

"I'm not ending it," Kat said sharply, folding her arms over her stomach.

Eric nodded. "I thought so. But damnit I don't know if I'm ready for something like this Kat."

"What makes adopting so hard?"

Eric opened his mouth to answer, but Tris beat him to it. "Because you would see him, or her, every day and not be able to do anything. It would be their baby, so you wouldn't spend any time with it or anything. And you may not think so now but that would be really hard."

Eric rubbed his eyes wearily. "We'll talk about it more later, alright? Nothing needs to be set in stone tonight."

Tris caught Kat's eye and nodded at her. "Um, Eric?"

"What's up Kitty?" He asked warily.

"Could you try to spend more time here?" She asked in a rush. "You're always gone and when you're here you're either distracted or sleeping and it feels like you don't want me."

"Oh Kitty, I'm sorry," he said softly, tugging her into his side. "I'm pretty busy right now, but I'll do my best alright?"

Kat wrapped her arms tightly around his waist in response, and Eric held her like that for several long moments.

"Why don't we eat with everyone else tonight?" He asked. "I don't feel like cooking tonight."

Kat grinned and nodded, she much preferred to spend dinner with the entire group.

"Alright, you head that way and we'll catch you up, I need to talk to Tris a minute." Kat gave him another squeeze and bolted out the door.

"I don't know what you said, but you're a lifesaver," he muttered, dropping his face in his hands. Tris laughed and, after hesitating only a moment, rubbed a hand across his back.

"I just tried to be her friend," she said evenly.

"I don't know how the hell I'm going to do this," he admitted to her. "I've got my hands full enough with her and dealing with Erudite. How am I supposed to do that with a baby around?"

Tris only hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I would help, if you wanted me to."

Eric turned and gave her a surprised look. "You'd do that?"

Tris nodded. "I like your sister," she said. "And like you said, you've got too much on your plate already."

Eric nodded, a sigh of relief escaping him. "If that ends up how it goes, I'll probably take you up on it. She say anything about a father?"

Tris shook her head. "There are a few options, she doesn't know who."

Eric sighed heavily. "Great."

"I thinks she'll be alright now though, as long as you take a few minutes a day with her. I think it was an attention thing," Tris told him honestly.

"I'll have to work on that then."

"I'll try to talk to her more often too," Tris told him. "If she feels like she has a friend maybe she won't run off to boys like that."

"Thanks for everything Tris," Eric told her honestly. "I owe you."

Tris shrugged again. "Don't worry about it."

"Stiff," Eric said lightly, shoving her shoulder.

"Nose," she returned with an elbow to the ribs.

Eric dodged the elbow and got up, making his way to the door. "Come on, I'm hungry." With a smile, Tris followed him out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**I know a good number of you had questions and concerns about the last chapter, and though I did my best to get back to a couple of you I do remember that at least one was a guest review, which I obviously cannot respond to via message so to that person/those people, I simply want to say that I hope to answer most of those questions and concerns in the upcoming chapters. **

**Questions and concerns aside, I am always grateful for the feedback, the emails that pop up at random points of my day saying I have a new review totally make my day, so pretty please keep it up!**

**Hope you all enjoy the fluff. :)**

* * *

The next couple of weeks went slowly as Eric attempted to adjust to the idea of Kat being pregnant. The reality of it had taken a couple of days to well and truly hit him, but once it did it caused a level of anxiety he had never experienced before. He knew full well that at her age it was going to be incredibly hard on her body, and the chances of her even carrying to term were slim at best.

Kat began getting sick frequently and severely, some days to the point he ended up having to stay home with her and cop out on his leadership duties. Max was fast losing his patience with the whole ordeal, and Eric had finally bowed to the fact he needed help. Reluctantly, he approached Tris at her apartment one evening, three weeks after Kat had revealed her pregnancy to them.

"Eric," Tris greeted in surprise, stepping aside so he could enter the apartment she shared with Christina. "Come on in, what brings you here?"

Eric sighed heavily as he sat down on her couch. "Kat's been getting pretty sick lately," he began, "And it's starting to interfere with my job. I was wondering if you might be willing to help me take care of her?"

"Of course," Tris responded immediately. "I'm not very busy lately, mostly I just help Christina in the tattoo parlor unless I'm needed. Do you want me to come over during the day or stay there with you or what?"

Eric shifted, somewhat uncomfortably as he considered. He wasn't accustomed to asking for help, but there was no way around the fact that he needed it. The nurse in the infirmary had put her on bed rest, seeing as her blood pressure was already beginning to spike and the risk of miscarriage was astronomical, given her age.

"I'm not sure," he answered honestly. "The nurse wants her on bed rest because of her blood pressure and she's been sick pretty much every day, sometimes through the night." Eric ran his hands through his hair agitatedly, completely at a loss. Tris moved to sit next to him, rubbing his back gently in comfort.

"Have you considered having her end it?"

"I've thought about it," he answered slowly. "Physically it would be healthier for her. But she's already in a hell of a state psychologically, what with our parents throwing her out like that and convincing herself I don't want her. Part of that is my fault, I'll admit, but still. She's still seeing what's his face but it's only doing so much good and I really don't want to think about how much worse something like that would make her."

Tris nodded sadly in agreement. "That's true. I've heard it screws up a lot of girls, both mentally and emotionally."

"Exactly. If it weren't for everything else I'd probably push for it, but the state she's in I just don't think it would be healthy. Obviously she can't raise it, which almost definitively leaves it up to me and to be completely honest I don't think I'm any more ready for that kind of thing than she is."

Tris was silent as she chewed over what he said. "I think you're right," she told him honestly. "But I think that you'd grow into it and figure it out."

Eric smiled wryly. "Thanks, I think."

"Anyway," Tris continued. "How do you want to do it?"

He sighed heavily. "It all depends on what you're comfortable with, but if you wanted to just stay with us for however long, that would probably be easiest. I can't ask for another reassignment so soon so you would have to share with either Kat or I, but that can be figured out if you're okay with it."

"Sure, that works."

"I'll talk to Kat about sharing with you," he told her. "She's been pretty anti-people lately, though, so she may not be too crazy about it. If she isn't you're welcome with me if… Um, if you're comfortable with it." Eric averted his eyes, sure that the idea of sharing a room, a bed with him would repulse her. "Otherwise I can always take the couch."

"No, that's fine," Tris assured, blushing slightly at the idea of sharing a bed with Eric. "If she'd rather be alone, I'm okay sharing with you as long as you're alright with it. How is she doing her schoolwork?"

"Zeke's brother and his friends are in her classes, so the teachers send all the material back with them and she does it here. She's bright and bored, so she's actually ahead of everyone else."

Tris smiled at the thought. "Well she was Erudite. Was, is, I don't know. What was it like when you transferred?" She wondered.

"It was difficult," he answered. "For our initiation they thought it would help if we knew our fears before we started stage one, so they sent us all through our fear landscape our first day here." Eric chuckled as he remembered. "That was something else. Coming from Erudite helped though. In Erudite logic is a big thing, it's something we learn really young so that came in handy, that's how I got through it."

"What, just reasoned your way through it?"

Eric hummed in affirmation. "Well he told us it wouldn't move on until we had either beaten it or slowed our vitals. And since you know it's a sim in stage three, I used that. Kept reminding myself none of it was real and forced my heart rate down." He grinned, clearly still prideful over it.

"That's impressive," Tris admitted, remembering her own journeys through the fear landscape all too well.

"I was a skinny little shit too," he said after a moment. "Had to use the same strategy you did during my first couple of fights until I'd put on some muscle."

Tris laughed at the image in her head. "Really?"

"Oh yeah," he grinned. "I might still have some of my shirts and stuff buried in the back of my closet. If my parents saw me now I doubt they'd recognize me." His tone turned sad at the end in a way that made her heart twist.

"You haven't seen them since you transferred have you?"

"Nope. I expected it though, they always said Dauntless were stupid to do such crazy things. Kind of the ultimate betrayal."

"Like my brother transferring to Erudite," Tris said quietly.

"What?" Eric's tone reflected shock.

"Yeah, last year with me, we were both sixteen. I always thought he was the perfect Abnegation. Then he went up on the stage and transferred to Erudite, never said a word to me about it. I wish he had, it would have been nice to know I wasn't the only one who didn't fit in." Tris looked at him curiously. "Did you tell Kat you were leaving?"

Eric nodded. "Yeah. I couldn't believe it when Tori gave me the result, I was in a daze the rest of the day. Finally that night after my parents had gone to bed I went to her room and woke her up. We were always close, there was no way I could just leave and not tell her. Even though she was only ten, all she had to do was look at me when I walked in her room that night and she knew."

"How did she react?" Tris asked, already having an idea what the answer would be.

"Exactly how you'd expect. She was heartbroken, sat on my lap and cried for over an hour. She never begged me to stay though," he reflected. "She knew that if the test said I was Dauntless, I had to join Dauntless." Eric's gaze grew distant as he relived the memories, and Tris was struck by how young he looked. It was easy to forget that he was only two years older than herself.

"I told her all about the day she was born, the first time I ever held her, everything I could remember. I fell asleep sitting up against the wall with her in my lap," he recalled with a smile.

"You were what, six when she was born?" Tris asked, trying to keep him talking. Clearly he adored her, and she couldn't help the warm feeling in her chest when she watched his face light up as he talked about her.

"Yeah, I was almost seven, I remember when they let me in the room and I got to hold her, she was so small..." A look of nostalgic wonderment came into Eric's eyes as he talked, and Tris couldn't help the indulgent smile on her face as she listened to him. It had been obvious from the moment she brought Kat to him how much she meant to him, but she had never truly gotten an idea of just how much until now. She had to have been his whole world before he transferred.

"Her first word was my name," he said proudly, grinning from ear to ear. "I was always her favorite, even when she was a baby. I could get her to eat or sleep when all she would do for our parents was scream. They put her in my room when she was about six months old because she kept waking them up every hour and a half. First night with me she slept all the way through, didn't make a peep."

"I can't imagine what it was like to leave her," Tris said softly, more to herself than him.

"There aren't words," he said quietly. "That was the only reason I wished my parents would have shown up on Visiting Day. Not because I wanted to see them, frankly I couldn't have cared less, we never got along anyway. But I wanted them to show up because I knew if they did they would bring her, but they never did."

"So you hadn't seen her in over two years?" Tris asked. "Even after initiation?"

"Never could. Before the last few months I wasn't ever really over there, and when I was it was never alone. God I wanted to though," he told her. "It was almost impossible to resist, but I knew what would happen if I decided to try to see her."

"Faction traitor?" She asked uncertainly. "Just for that?"

"Yep," he responded. "When they say faction before blood, they're not kidding."

"That's..." Tris trailed off. Eric was right, there really weren't words. "I can't imagine what that must have been like."

Eric shook his head slowly, lost in memories. After a moment though, he looked up at her and smiled. "And then there was one day a few months ago that I was having a horrible day. Just one of those where nothing is going right, know what I mean?" Tris hummed in assent and Eric continued, still smiling at her.

"Everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong, up to my ears in paperwork and bullshit, and then out of the blue you show up at my office door with my favorite person in the world," he said quietly, looking at her in a way she couldn't quite identify.

Eric's gray eyes met and held her own with an intensity that drew color into her cheeks.

"You know, I don't think I've ever really thanked you for that. She means the world to me, she always has. You were the one to bring her back to me."

Somehow, impossibly, the air around her felt heavier. Tris could feel her heart pounding abnormally hard in her chest, perhaps in response to the intense way Eric was looking at her. When she looked in his eyes, she noticed they seemed brighter than usual.

"What else could I have done?" Tris asked softly.

"Ignored her, like anyone else would have," Eric whispered, "Like I would have if she had been anyone else." She could hear the pain in his voice.

A lone tear welled up and broke over his lower lid, tracing a wet path slowly down his cheek. Tris reached up slowly to wipe it away, hesitating momentarily before her fingertip made contact with his skin. His eyelids fluttered closed as he leaned slightly into her hand, and Tris felt a tingle of a feeling she couldn't put a finger on swell in her chest.

"Thank you," He whispered softly, winding an arm around her shoulders and pulling her against his side. Tris returned the gesture and leaned her head against his shoulder, feeling the heat of his skin through the thin fabric of her shirt. When she looked up at him she found him watching her again, moving his gaze from her lips to her eyes when he felt her stare.

Something about being this close to him when he was looking at her that way made her heart pick up speed, and her breath grew shallow as his eyes flicked back down to her lips again. She thought she saw him start to lean in, but the next moment he had closed his eyes, pulling back from her and standing in one smooth motion.

"Come on, I'll help you get your things together."

...

It hadn't taken long to get Tris's things together, although she wasn't bringing much to begin with. After they brought her stuff from her apartment to Eric's Tris had gone to the tattoo parlor to tell Christina what was going on, but hadn't lingered. Christina had a waiting list of people wanting tattoos, but had hugged her and told her to stop by as often as possible. After that Tris had gone back to Eric's apartment, now hers as well, so they could talk to Kat once she woke up from her nap. At ten and a half weeks along, Kat had a tendency to sleep half the day.

"How are you feeling?" Eric asked softly when Kat emerged from her room, yawning widely.

"A little better," she replied. "Kind of hungry, I hope I can hold something down tonight."

"If it doesn't get better in the next couple of weeks I'm going to ask for that medicine," he told her. "I know it's technically normal but this is getting out of hand. You need sustenance."

"I've been doing a lot of reading about it," Kat told him. "Honestly, it could be a lot worse."

"Well, be that as it may Tris is going to be staying here with us. She hasn't been very busy lately so she's going to help you when I'm not around, okay?"

Kat grinned. "Seriously? That's awesome!"

Tris laughed and walked over to hug the younger girl. "Well I'm glad you approve."

"Where will you be staying?" Kat asked curiously.

"I was actually going to ask you about that," Eric told her as Tris wandered aimlessly across the room, letting them talk. "It would be ideal for her to share with you, but I know you've been wanting your space lately so if you'd rather she can share with me."

Kat regarded Eric carefully, noting the way his gaze seemed to linger on Tris just a few moments too long and the smile he probably didn't know he wore when he looked at her. In truth, she had no problems sharing a room with Tris, but the look deep in her brother's eyes stopped her from saying so.

"Honestly you're right," she told him, feigning regret. "I wish I could say I wouldn't mind but..." Kat trailed off innocently, faking a sad expression and widening her eyes slightly.

Sure enough, Kat saw a flicker of happiness in Eric's eyes when she answered.

"That's perfectly fine Kitty," he assured, draping an arm around her shoulders.

"Thanks Eric," she smiled at him before wandering off to the kitchen, a sly smirk forming on her lips when her back was to both of them.

_'You're welcome, dear brother,' _she thought to herself as she heard them moving Tris into his bedroom.

* * *

**Yes I know, cop out. Don't hate me, I promise it'll happen!**

**And hooray to me for finally figuring out how to insert page breaks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**This might seem a hair rushed but for some reason I just had to have all of this happen this chapter. Hope you enjoy, let me know if you do (or don't) at the end!**

* * *

Tris was momentarily disoriented when she awoke the next morning, thrown off by the unfamiliar feel of the mattress and smell of the room. What came as most shocking, however, was the strong arm wound tightly around her waist holding her firmly against the muscular body behind her. When it dawned on Tris that Eric had somehow ended up cuddling her in the night, she couldn't help but giggle. Eric's light snores in her ear told her he was still fast asleep, and Tris could feel her hair moving with each of his breaths.

Tris looked down at the arm encircling her waist and realized she wasn't going anywhere any time soon, not unless she was going to wake him up anyway. Tris giggled again at the mental image of the way Eric would surely blush when he woke to find himself holding her this way.

She grinned as she remembered the night before, when Eric had realized for the first time that though his bed was plenty big enough for him, sharing it would put them rather close to each other. He had laid down awkwardly, scooting to the edge of the bed and apologizing for how close it would put them.

"If you want," he began awkwardly, not quite meeting her eyes, "I really can take the couch."

"Don't be ridiculous Eric," she had assured him, trying to hide that she felt as awkward about it as he did. "It doesn't bother me, I promise." At least that was the truth. It was awkward, but it didn't bother her exactly.

Tris stretched languidly, or tried to, straining against the arm wrapped around her to do it. Her resistance against him only made him tighten his grip, shifting unconsciously until she was pressed against him from ankle to shoulder and burying his face deeper in her hair. She almost felt bad for him, knowing how mortified he would be when he woke up, unless she managed to free herself.

Tris considered the possibility, wondering if there was a way to sneak out of his iron grip without waking him. She knew she couldn't pry his arm from around her, but maybe she could slide out of it...

The way his legs were crooked prevented her from sliding downward, so Tris began to slowly work her way up, wiggling gently in an attempt to loosen his grip. Every time she shifted, though, his grasp only grew tighter.

Just as she was about to give up Tris heard him take in a deeper breath, grunting slightly as he woke up. Eric flexed as he came to, and she felt him freeze when the motion brought her, if possible, even closer to him. Tris couldn't help but giggle as she felt him pull sharply away from her, and when she rolled over she discovered her assumption had been right. Eric's face was glowing like the setting sun.

"Shit Tris, I'm so sorry, I- I didn't..." He stuttered awkwardly, and Tris couldn't help but giggle at the mortified expression on his face. She stifled it, however, not wanting to make him feel even worse.

"It's okay, it's obvious you didn't mean to." Tris smiled reassuringly, stroking his arm gently. He gave her a skeptical look, cheeks still pink. "Really," she said softly, "Don't worry so much."

"Okay," He agreed softly. Though he tried to hide it, she could still see the insecurity in his eyes.

Now that he had pulled away from her, Tris noticed the chill in the room and shivered slightly. Tris realized belatedly that if she hadn't woken to Eric holding her the way he had been she would have been cold. Tris shivered again, and an idea struck her.

"If you hadn't I'd have been freezing when I woke up," she told him honestly. "Like I am now." Blushing slightly, she wiggled across the bed toward him and drew his arm back around her.

Eric chuckled slightly, and she felt his body relax as he tugged her against his chest again. Tris smiled in triumph, glad she had found a way to get him to quit kicking himself over it. Tris tried to ignore how comfortable and warm she was, curled up into his broad, muscular chest. Eric had slept in only his boxers, and the heat of his bare skin seeped quickly through the thin cotton of her short sleeved top. She shivered again as his body heat warmed her, and she couldn't quite stop herself from pressing her cheek into the hollow of his shoulder.

"Better?" He asked, and she could hear the amusement in his voice. Tris felt herself turn pink again, but the feel of his arms around her made it somehow worth it.

"Much," she said lightly. "You're really warm."

"Good to know I'm hot enough for you," he teased.

Tris freed a hand and swatted at him lightly, making him laugh again.

"We should get up and going," he reminded her. Tris groaned in response, but didn't disagree with him. She pulled away and sat up slowly, goosebumps rising on her arms at the loss of his body heat. She felt the bed shift as he got up, and her eyes followed him across the room. Her eyes slid slowly down his body, following the contours of his broad shoulders and wide chest, down the narrow path of his abs to his hips and muscular legs. Her eyes went slowly back up, and she blushed a deep red when her eyes met his and she realized she was caught.

"Like what you see?" He asked with a wink.

"Would I be looking if I didn't?" She countered.

"Touché."

...

Tris and Christina were alone in the tattoo parlor, Tris having decided to get out of the apartment while Kat was napping. The girl would be out cold for at least two hours, if not three, and there wasn't much to do there.

"So how'd it go?" Christina asked as she sketched absently. "Are you sharing a room with Kat?"

"No, she's been wanting her space lately so I, um... Eric and I are sharing," she admitted, turning pink.

"Wait, are you saying you shared a bed with Eric?" Christina asked in shock.

"Yep," Tris said, going for an offhand tone and failing miserably.

"How did that go?"

"Awkward at first," she admitted. "I think he was even more embarrassed than me honestly."

Christina gave her a look of disbelief. "Wait seriously?"

"Yeah," Tris admitted, then grinned. "He's a teddy bear at night,"

This time Christina stopped her sketching altogether, freezing to stare at Tris in shock. "Explain," she demanded.

"It's pretty simple actually," Tris admitted with a giggle. "I woke up and he was cuddled up behind me with his arm around me, totally out. He was so embarrassed when he woke up though, I felt bad."

"What did he do?"

"He pulled away right away. He was stuttering and trying to apologize, I felt terrible because it honestly didn't bother me," Tris confessed quietly.

"What did you do?"

"I noticed how cold I was," she said honestly. Christina grinned.

"And then?"

Tris grinned. "You know me too well. I moved back over and put his arm back where it was."

Christina made a squealing noise. "What did he do?"

Tris shrugged. "He relaxed and went with it. We stayed there for a few minutes and then got up."

"How is he like that with you? Almost everyone else he's-" Christina cut off sharply, and her eyes widened. Tris looked around in alarm for the cause of Christina's reaction, but didn't see anything.

"Chris, what is it?"

"He likes you," she said.

Tris gave her a confused look. "Well after being around each other so much, even if it is mostly business I'd hope we could at least get along, yeah."

Christina shook her head, smiling. "No, I mean he _likes _you," she emphasized.

"No he doesn't," she scoffed. "He tolerates me because of Kat and our jobs Chris. Nothing more."

"If you say so..." Christina said in a singsong tone.

...

"He must be a closet cuddler," Tris giggled to Christina almost a week later. "Every morning I've woken up to him curled behind me."

"What does he do when he wakes up?"

"Same as the first morning, gets all flustered and tries to apologize. He's warm though and it's freezing so I follow him when he pulls away," Tris smirked.

"And you're sure it's an accident?" Christina asked slyly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean tonight you should fake being asleep and stay awake until _he _falls asleep."

"What, you think he's doing it on purpose?"

"The first time probably not," Christina admitted. "But every single night since? Come on."

Tris chewed her lip, unwilling to admit she had been thinking along the same lines. "What do I do if he is?"

"That's up to you. Would it bother you if he was?"

Tris considered for several long moments. "Probably not," she admitted. After a pause, she continued. "And I'm not sure I want to think about what that means," she admitted.

Christina giggled. "We'll analyze that later. For now, try to stay awake tonight until he falls asleep. I bet he does it once he thinks you're sleeping.

...

"Night Tris," Eric said softly before rolling over.

"Night," Tris returned, feigning a yawn and closing her eyes. Normally she would be tired, but Tris had downed a cup of coffee in the pit a few hours ago, ensuring she would be awake for a while.

Tris followed Christina's instructions and let her breathing even out, deliberately breathing more slowly than she normally would. After perhaps ten minutes she felt Eric roll quietly back over, breathing slowly but still awake. Tris kept her breaths carefully slow and even, relaxing her body completely and fighting the urge to twitch or fidget.

Another fifteen minutes and Tris felt Eric's fingers slide slowly along her upper arm, up from her elbow to her shoulder and across to her neck where he gently pulled her hair aside. Tris fought the urge to shudder or otherwise react to his touch, and kept herself still. Eric's fingers traced back down to her elbow and farther down to her hand before tracing the same path back up again, lingering on her shoulder.

When she felt his lips press softly against the bare skin of her shoulder, right next to the strap of her tank top it was all Tris could do not to shudder.

Eric's hand traced it's way down her arm again, before falling away to caress her waist gently. When she still didn't move, Eric slipped his arm completely around her and pulled her gently against his chest. She felt his breath move her hair as he settled himself behind her, and Tris couldn't help the shiver that raced down her spine when it brushed against the sensitive skin of her neck. She felt Eric freeze behind her, and knew that he knew he was caught.

"Are you awake?" He asked, in a whisper as quiet as a breath.

The coffee was finally leaving her system, and Tris was incredibly comfortable in the circle of his arm, being cradled against his chest so securely.

"Mhmm," she hummed tiredly. "Was wondering how that kept happenin'," she said, slurring a little.

Tris grabbed Eric's wrist as he went to withdraw his arm, having known that he would pull away as soon as he was caught.

"Don't go," she said.

"Are you sure?" Eric asked her, and she could hear the uncertainty - and the embarrassment - in his voice.

"Nice 'n warm," she whispered. "Feels safe." If she had been more awake, Tris would have blushed as the words slipped out without her permission, but she was simply too exhausted now the caffeine had worn off.

She felt Eric's arm slide more securely around her, tightening as he pulled her fully against his chest. "Sleep now Tris," he whispered in her ear. "I'm not going anywhere."

As if his words were a cue, Tris slept.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again everyone! Usually once I sit down to write a chapter I do the whole thing in one hit, maybe two if I get really distracted but for some reason this one took me three or four days to peck out from beginning to end.**

**Something else new, I've decided to try to start a Twitter account purely for those of you who read my work on here. Ideally I'd like to use it to give people a better idea of what I'm working on when, give a heads up on updates and possibly bounce ideas off people. So do me a favor, head over to Twitter and follow loveualwaysmom! I have issues sticking to social media that isn't facebook, but I'm going to give this an honest go. First off, for some reason I can't make this accept either the at symbol or parenthases, so that's why it's not there. Second, I swear quite a bit so if language offends you, it may not be a good idea. Then again, if language offends you I'm kind of confused as to how you're reading my stuff. Anyway, I digress.**

**Enough rambling from me, I really hope you like the chapter. As usual, it would be wonderful to hear from you when you've reached the end!**

* * *

Tris awoke slowly in the morning, and it took her brain a moment to bring back the last events of the night. When it came back to her Tris smiled to herself, she wasn't sure what but there was something sweet about him wanting to hold her and being too shy to go for it while she was awake.

She stretched as best she could in the confined space between his arm and chest, glad that he hadn't pulled away from her once she had fallen asleep. She had grown accustomed to waking up in his embrace, and a small part of her was hoping that now she would be able to fall asleep the same way. Tris felt Eric's arm flex around her and shoved the thought away, resolving to analyze it later with Christina before slowly rolling over to face him.

Tris's eyes met a pair of cautious, yet somehow vulnerable gray ones when she looked up at him and slipped her own arm around his waist much the way his was around hers. She smiled slightly before curling closer to him, resting her head against his chest and sighing contentedly. His arms tightened around her, and she felt his fingers gently stroking her back as she relaxed in his arms.

"So you're okay with this?" His voice was soft, tentative and though he tried to hide it, vulnerable.

Tris nodded from her place against his chest. "It's nice," she admitted. "I never took you for a cuddler though."

A chuckle rumbled through his chest. "Neither did I," he admitted, hugging her tighter.

"Does this mean you'll stop waiting until I'm asleep?" Tris asked shyly.

"If that's what you want," he responded quietly. Her eyes were closed and her face was pressed against his chest, but Tris could hear the smile in his voice, and Christina's comment from the week before suddenly wiggled its way into her head.

"When did you start doing that after I fell asleep?" Tris asked suddenly, pulling away far enough to look at his face. She saw blood color his cheeks and failed to bite back a giggle. Eric averted his eyes then, looking off somewhere over her shoulder, and she could see the embarrassment and vulnerability in his expression. Slowly Tris removed her arm from around his waist to skim her hand gently across his chest before speaking.

"I'm not laughing at you," she told him softly. "I'm laughing because you're blushing and it's so _not _you."

"I know," he said quietly, catching the hand brushing across his chest in his own and holding it there. Tris felt her heartbeat stutter unevenly for a moment, but chose to ignore it.

"So?"

Eric chuckled reluctantly. "I woke up in the middle of the night the second night and couldn't get back to sleep. I don't know what made me think of it, but I thought that maybe being closer to you would help me fall asleep."

Tris almost didn't catch the way his eyes flicked away from hers toward the end of his sentence, but she was discovering that the more time she spent with Christina, the better she got at noticing when people were lying.

"That's sweet, but my best friend is a Candor transfer. Try again," she quipped.

Eric gave her a startled look before blushing an even deeper red. Tris gently extracted her hand from his own and placed it against his burning cheek, smiling slightly.

"What are you so afraid of? Just say it Eric, I'm not upset about it."

"The truth? I don't know. I don't have the first clue why I'm perfectly okay sharing my bed and my space with you, or why I spend half my day thinking about you. And I certainly have no damn clue why it feels so natural to hold you like this." She looked in his eyes and knew without a doubt that he was telling her the truth. He really had no idea.

"Neither do I," Tris lied.

...

"So you're right," Tris told Christina, "But he has no idea."

"Enlighten me?" Christina asked vaguely as she worked on a sketch.

"Eric," she elaborated. "Last week you said he liked me."

Christina looked up at her and grinned from ear to ear. "That's not all I was right about is it?"

"Nope," Tris told her. "Every night, save the first, was deliberate."

"Wait, what do you mean he has no idea?"

"I mean he has no idea he likes me. I can tell."

"Are you sure?" Christina asked her dubiously.

"Positive, I've been friends with you for too long," Tris told her with a grin.

Christina nodded in agreement. "That's true. So, how do you feel about him?"

Tris plopped down in the chair next to Christina. "I don't really know," she confessed. "I mean, I really like waking up with him like that. And..." Tris trailed off, feeling herself blush.

"And what?" Christina piped up impatiently. "Don't make me pry it out of you."

"Well, now that we both know he's been doing it deliberately, I'm hoping it becomes a normal thing."

Christina giggled and grinned widely at Tris. "Oh yeah, you like him," she stated matter-of-factly, making Tris groan.

"And what am I supposed to do about that when he has no idea he likes me?"

"Just have to wait for him to figure it out. Or make the first move, your choice."

"I can be patient," Tris muttered.

...

"What are they going to do at my appointment?" Kat asked Tris nervously that evening, looking up from her schoolwork suddenly.

Tris thought about it for a moment. "Probably just check everything," she said evenly. "See how the baby is doing, how you're doing. Make sure you're healthy, that there aren't any problems." Tris smiled. "I wouldn't worry too much."

Kat nodded. "Okay." She picked at her cuticles idly, chewing her lip. Silently, Tris thanked Christina for teaching her how to read body language.

"What's on your mind?" Tris asked her.

Kat sighed. "What happens when Eric finds a girlfriend?"

"He... Has a girlfriend I guess," Tris said uncertainly. "I don't follow. You mean what happens to me?"

"That too I guess," Kat said. "But what happens to me? What happens if he finds a girlfriend and decides he wants her around more than me? What if she doesn't want me around?"

"Oh honey," Tris sighed, moving to put her arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "First off, you mean more to him than any girl ever will. Trust me. And second, I have no doubt that anyone who didn't like you or want you around would be shown the door." Kat nodded to herself, resting her head against Tris's shoulder.

"Are you his girlfriend?" Kat asked her suddenly.

Tris looked down at the other girl in surprise. "What makes you ask that?" She wondered aloud. Other than his apparent cuddling her at night, Tris couldn't think of anything they had done to give off that vibe.

"I poked my head in earlier because I thought you were awake-"

"Oh," Tris cut her off, laughing. "Yeah, apparently your brother is a cuddler."

"Is that all it is?"

Tris thought about it. "For now," she answered finally. "But who knows."

Kat grinned at her. "He likes you. I can tell."

"I know he does," Tris told her, smiling. "But he doesn't. Not yet anyway, so don't say anything to him alright? Let him figure it out at his own pace."

"Do you like him?"

Tris laughed aloud, trying not to blush. "Do your work, girl."

"So, yes."

"A little," Tris admitted. "Again, just don't tell him anything."

"Deal."

...

"So apparently Kat poked her head in this morning to see if we were awake," Tris told Eric casually that night as she walked back into the room. Tris said it casually, laying down on the bed as she did.

Eric froze, turning to stare at her with his pants half off, and Tris couldn't help but giggle. "Well, strip and get over here baby," she teased lightly, patting the bed next to her.

"Do you want me to _strip _strip?" He joked, hooking his thumbs in the waistband of his boxers and winking at her.

"Sorry, not tonight," she said with a grin.

"Damn shame," he returned, kicking his pants off before laying down next to her. "You're missing out. _Baby,_" he tossed back.

Tris rolled to face him, grinning in response to his teasing. "Anyway," she reminded, making his lighthearted smile fade.

"What did she say?" He asked, sounding worried.

"Well first she asked what would happen if you had a girlfriend, she was worried if that happened you wouldn't want her around anymore. I told her that she's more important to you than any girl ever will be."

"Did she believe you?"

"Certainly seemed like it."

"What else did she ask? I can see it in your face Tris," he reminded her.

"She asked if I was your girlfriend," Tris responded, trying to sound casual.

Eric played with her hair as he answered. "What did you tell her?"

"I asked her what made her ask, she told me about seeing us this morning. I told her that her brother is a cuddler," Tris evaded. It wasn't like she was lying, after all.

"Anything else?" He asked, sounding nervous. Tris smiled at him and scooted closer to him, resting her head on his chest. After a moment of hesitation he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, stroking her back absently. If she hadn't been able to hear his heartbeat stutter and then speed up, she would have believed his casual façade.

"Not really," she answered quietly, listening to his heart race. Tris stroked his chest slowly, fingers skimming the sparse hair there seemingly without conscious thought. Under her ear, his heart stuttered again.

Over the course of the day Tris had both thought about and accepted the fact that Christina was right, she really did like Eric quite a bit. There was something incredibly relaxing about letting him hold her this way, and something very endearing about his shyness that was so different from the Eric she had known before.

"What is this Tris?" Eric whispered. Tris tilted her head to look at his face, and saw him staring at the ceiling. Dimly, she wondered if he had meant to say it aloud.

"What do you mean?" She inquired softly, resting her palm flat on his chest. Eric looked down at her suddenly, which she took for confirmation that he hadn't been aware of speaking aloud.

"I... I don't know," he said quietly. "Nevermind."

Tris rolled over to lay on her stomach, still laying partially on his chest. "Don't do that. What is it?"

"Don't do what?"

"Shut down, close me out. What are you thinking Eric?"

He heaved a sigh and looked up at her, running his fingers through her hair as he thought.

"This is new to me," he admitted. "Not the physical part, obviously, but this," Eric emphasized, waving a hand uncertainly between them. "Caring like this. I'm not used to it..."

"Not everything can be quantified," she told him softly. "I know that that's what you want, that's what's comfortable because of where you grew up but not everything can be neatly categorized. Sometimes things just don't make sense."

"I'm starting to realize that," he said, chuckling slightly. He stared at her for a long moment, and Tris could practically see the wheels turning in his mind.

"What are you thinking about?" She inquired softly.

"You," he said honestly. Tris could see in his eyes how much the admission cost him, how much the entire conversation was costing him. "What are you thinking about?"

Tris smiled at him, and gently stroked her fingertips down his jawline. "You," she returned.

Eric wrapped both arms around her then and gently tugged her down to him, running his fingers through her hair. Tris draped her arm over his waist gently, tucking herself against him and sighing contentedly.

"We should go to sleep," Eric said several minutes later. "I have a long day tomorrow."

Tris nodded and stretched out, lifting her head from his shoulder. After a moment of hesitation she leaned over and gently kissed his cheek, lingering there momentarily. She felt his hand tighten on her shoulder, and suspected that if her head had been on his chest still she would have heard his heart stutter again.

Slowly Eric turned his head to face her, gray eyes almost brimming over with emotion she could tell he didn't understand. His eyes flicked down to her lips for a moment, telling Tris exactly what he wanted. She met his eyes and saw the fear there, the uncertainty that told her that she would have to be the one to make the first move, if one was going to be made.

Slowly Tris leaned forward, letting her eyelids flutter closed the moment before her lips brushed against his. His hand moved up to cup the back of her neck as he returned the kiss, soft and hesitant.

They lingered there for several moments before pulling away, and the open vulnerability of the way Eric looked at her made Tris's own heart stutter, much the way his had several times that night. She stroked her thumb gently across his lips, and gave him another soft kiss before rolling over.

After only a moment's pause, she felt his arm go around her waist and tug her flush against his chest. Tris settled herself comfortably into his embrace and closed her eyes, letting the sound of his breathing lull her to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**I know this is shorter than you're used to, but I couldn't get any farther without forcing it and it's more than 1k which is my personal bar, so I'll give you this while I head off to pluck away on chapter 9 of Late Night Lessons. **

**If you want more little hints like that, find me on twitter at loveualwaysmom!**

**Also, if you want more great Eric/Tris stories go to my page, find my list of favorite authors and check out Torry-Riddle's profile, she does fantastic work and I'm personally following some of her stuff!**

**I love reviews, so pretty please drop me one at the end!**

* * *

"Alright, lets get this over with so we can get back to Dauntless," Eric muttered as he helped Kat out of the car.

She had reached the thirteen week mark, and it was time for her to see a doctor at the hospital instead of the nurse in the infirmary. Because of her small stature, she had started showing about a month previously, though a heavy sweatshirt disguised it for now. Kat had borrowed one of Eric's to go out today, after discovering how much people stared when they noticed she was pregnant.

The hospital was in the center of the city, and was run by members of all five factions. Erudite made up doctors, psychologists and the top medical staff, a select few Dauntless worked as security, and Amity worked as aids, nurses and receptionists. Abnegation filled the positions that were left open, mostly the undesirable ones like cleaning bathrooms, bedpans, doing laundry and the like. Finances were handled almost exclusively by Candor, with only a handful working as assistants in the psychiatry wing when required by the doctors. Occasionally they were pulled from these areas to question patients when things didn't add up, able to tell when said patients were lying where others couldn't.

Eric opened the door and held it open for the pair of them, brushing his hand momentarily across the small of Tris's back as she passed him. The front desk was manned by two Amity women and a man of the same, predictably. Tris guided Kat to sit in the reception area while Eric went to the counter to check them in. Tris watched the Amity woman with a bit of surprise, almost every Abnegation and Amity cowered slightly in the presence of one of the Dauntless, but the woman at the desk interacted with Eric with remarkable ease.

Eric caught Tris's surprised expression when he turned and walked back to where Tris and Kat were waiting. "What?"

"I've never seen an Amity so at ease with one of us before," Tris told him.

"And how many Dauntless do you think come in here on a regular basis?" He asked her in amusement. Tris thought about it and realized that with their daredevil nature, Dauntless were probably some of the most frequent visitors.

"Oh, yeah that makes sense," she admitted.

"Coulter, Kathryn?" A voice called out. The three of them looked up to see a young Amity man, perhaps Eric's age, stood in a doorway off to the left, a clipboard in his hand. The three of them got up and followed him, Tris with her arm around Kat's shoulders and Eric trailing behind them.

Tris turned to look at him, confused at his behavior. He had been fairly relaxed in the car, but the moment they had stepped through the door he had dropped into the persona she was used to from her initiate days, and his eyes were watching everything as he stayed close behind them. For some reason, Tris got the impression he was guarding them, or Kat at least. Either way, something had him on edge. Tris thought about reaching behind herself to take his hand, but realized at the last second that it probably wouldn't be a welcome gesture. She could tell he was deliberately exuding an intimidating vibe, and holding hands with or being reassured by her would be far from helpful.

The man led them into a plain, sterile white room with a window in the far wall, closing the door quietly behind them.

"My name is Jack, and I'll be your nurse today," he told them brightly as Eric moved to stand by the wall, crossing his arms across his chest. "Now who is miss Coulter?"

"I am," Kat said shyly, stepping forward and sitting up on the bed.

"Nice to meet you honey," he said, smiling and holding out his hand. Kat took it easily, seeming to relax somewhat. This was why Amity were generally nurses. "And you are?" He asked, turning to Tris.

"I'm Tris, a friend and this is her brother Eric," she told him, gesturing to Eric behind them. Eric nodded at him once, though he looked more relaxed now they were in a closed room. Tris wondered idly what had him so wound up, and made a mental note to ask him later.

"Well anyway, it says here in the file that you are thirteen weeks pregnant, is that correct?" He asked Kat kindly.

"Um, yeah that's right," she said uncomfortably, clearly waiting for the judgement she had become accustomed to in Dauntless.

"I'm not here to judge anyone sweetie," he reassured, clearly noticing her distress. "I'm just here to ask a few questions and take vitals."

Tris stood at Kat's side while Jack did his work, quickly measuring her pulse, blood pressure and wrapping up by listening to her heart and lungs.

"Well your blood pressure is a little higher than we'd like to see it, but other than that it looks like you're doing okay."

"What is it?" Eric asked sharply.

Jack looked up at him in confusion. "I'm sorry, what is what?"

"Her blood pressure, what is it? You said it's high."

"One-thirty-eight over ninety-seven," he answered dutifully.

Tris looked over in time to see Eric cringe. "We'll have to keep an eye on that," he said, turning to Tris.

"Alright," she agreed easily.

"Anyway, I'm going to go get the doctor now, he'll be in in just a moment," Jack told the three of them before slipping quietly out the door.

Eric paced along the wall behind them while they waited, and about fifteen minutes later the door opened and a rather flustered-looking woman rushed in, speaking as she turned her back to close the door. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Eric stop pacing very abruptly, eyes locking on the woman as he stepped quickly to Kat's other side, jaw tight.

"Sorry for the wait, I'm Doctor Coulter," she said briskly, turning to face them. Her eyes slid over Eric without noticing him, but widened when they settled on Kat, who averted her eyes to stare at her feet.

"Kathryn?" she asked incredulously. Tris looked quickly back to the woman, recognizing her eyes after a moment of scrutiny. The same wide, gray eyes shared by the two people at her side.

"Mom," Kat said quietly, still staring at her shoes and looking like she wanted to melt into the floor. Tris wrapped her arm tightly around her shoulders, back straightening as she set her jaw in defiance.

Beside her, Eric's voice cracked like a whip through the dead air, cold as ice. "Why are you here?"

The woman's eyes snapped immediately to Eric, the hostility in his voice and his towering, intimidating posture making her take an automatic step back.

"Doctor Brandy was called up to surgery so I'm filling in here for him," She said crisply.

Tris watched the two interact with curiosity, and it took her a moment to realize that Eric hadn't been kidding the day he'd asked her to move in with them. His own mother didn't even recognize him. The thought made anger pulse through her, that the woman could care so little about her own children, take so little notice that she didn't even recognize her son standing in front of her.

"Kathryn how did you end up in Dauntless? What are you doing there?" Doctor Coulter asked sharply, staring at her daughter.

Kat opened her mouth to answer, but Eric's icy laugh cut her off. "You're joking right?"

The doctor's eyes flipped back to Eric and caught on his arm wrapped protectively around his sister, and the way she had shrunk into his side before returning to his face. She scrutinized him for a few seconds, and her eyes widened.

"Eric?"

"Now you recognize me," he snapped coldly. "I can see you care just as much as you always have."

She bristled at his tone and stepped forward, clearly ready to give him a piece of her mind, but stopped short when Eric removed his arm from Kat's shoulders and stepped toward her in return. He could only have gotten his height from his father, because Eric towered over his mother by a good eight inches, making her falter as she looked up at him. His hard, straight posture was menacing and there was the promise of a threat carved in every line of his face as he scowled down at her.

"I specifically asked for _anyone _but you," he said icily. "Now obviously shit happens but that doesn't mean I have to like it. That girl there is my sister, and your _patient._ She is not your daughter, and you will not treat her as such. You gave up that right when you threw her out. You will do your job, and then we are leaving. Do I make myself clear?"

"What makes you think you can talk to me like that?" His mother snapped. "Even if you don't want me calling myself her mother, I _am _still yours and you will not talk to me that way."

Eric's arm moved so quickly that Tris's eyes barely followed the movement, but the click of a gun being cocked echoed through the silent room as the barrel pressed against the doctor's forehead, making the blood drain from her face.

"I'm not going to ask you again," he said quietly. "_Do_ I make myself clear?"

"Of course," she said shakily, backing down instantly as Eric returned his gun to its holster.


End file.
